The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
More close friends and colleagues reflect on legacy of former Mayor Leo Matzke
ONEIDA, N.Y. » The outpouring of love for Leo Matzke, a person dedicated to helping others, has been great. In the Dispatch’s reporting, the consensus of those who knew him has been simple: he was a very special man.
For Lewis Carinci, Matzke was more than that. He was like family.
Lewis told the Dispatch about his familial bond with Matzke and shared stories that illuminated the nature of the beloved former mayor’s character. From local government to the children’s camp and so many areas in between, Lewis shared that helping others was at the core of Matzke’s being.
“He was all about the city of Oneida, all about the children, anybody who needed help. He was a father to so many people. It’s unbelievable how many people he’s helped throughout his career. And it didn’t matter if you voted for him or not,” he reflected. Matzke never held a grudge, Lewis said.
Matzke’s wife and family share the same essence, Lewis said. “They’re incredible people.”
Lewis and Matzke have known each other since way back, as Lewis’s uncle, Army Carinci, also former longtime Oneida mayor and government official, was close with Matzke. They were both intertwined in local government for decades, Lewis said. “He loved my Uncle Army like I loved him,” Lewis said. Together, these two were major influences on Lewis
when he finally decided to take a chance at city government himself. “They harassed me all the time, ” he joked. Lewis went on to be a city supervisor for 10 years.
He recalled the hours of advice and guidance Matzke would share to help him move forward in his position. “We talked a lot, at least once a week we talked about things that were happening at the county,” he said. These conversations went beyond what was covered in the supervisor reports at council meetings. “Leo was always interested in what was going on and how we could serve each other….those were ongoing conversations all the time.”
There were days Lewis spent on the city’s Democratic Committee with Matzke when the group would stand at Pepi’s Pizza out on the road to collect essential items, he remembered. “flag down cars to bring us diapers and toothbrushes and toothpaste and things that the food pantries didn’t give out… We did that four, five times a year. We went to all different places,” he recalled. “Politics was the second part of it, but politics was never the first part. It was always about helping the people of Oneida and that’s why I enjoyed being around him.”
Matzke often recognized the great potential in people, including Lewis. Later in life, no longer working for city government, Lewis pondered his next big move. Was it retirement? He didn’t really think so. Matzke said he’d be a great fit for an open teaching position at OCM BOCES and urged him to apply.
“I said ok, and for the heck of it I put in an application. I was actually sitting on his porch and I got a phone call from BOCES. And they wanted to talk to me, and they hired me. I mean, what are the odds of that happening?”
Ever since then, Lewis has been a welding instructor at OCM BOCES for five years. “This is like the best decision of my life,” he said, “and I can thank Leo for that.”
Lewis is also currently the Board President of Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association, a title he’s held for several years. If it weren’t for Matzke and his keen sense for connecting people with the right opportunities, then the organization may have never ended up choosing Oneida as the spot for their brand new shelter, Lewis said. “He knew we were looking to build a new shel
ter somewhere, and he contacted us and said, hey, we have three parcels of land we’re willing to donate it to you if you can move here.”
The ideal spot was right next to Lowe’s, but that came with a set of hurdles: The shelter needed the corporation’s OK to build. After over a year of negotiations, Lowe’s finally agreed. “It was an extremely important day,
and I called up,” Lewis said. “I just wish he was around for when the day comes that we do get to build. Because he was a big influence and big help with that.” Matzke’s deputy mayor, Jim Chamberlain, was also a great help, Lewis said.
There’s still some legal work with the city that needs to be finalized for the building process to officially begin.
“Just was a man that helped everybody,” Lewis said. “We have lost a true gentleman.”